LAS VEGAS, NEV.
According to officials, a 21-count indictment was unsealed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court charging 13 leaders, members and associates of MS-13 with multiple drug and firearms offenses, officials stated.
Eleven out of 13 defendants were arrested.
Two other defendants — Juan Angel Reyes (also known as “Angel” and “Mysterio”) and Eder Cruz-Salguero (also known as “Edgar Manolo Ramirez-Salguero” and “Venado”) — are considered fugitives.
“As a result of the hard work and substantial resources dedicated by our local and federal law enforcement partners, this collaborative effort has disrupted MS-13’s leadership and significantly undermines the gang’s ability to engage in violence and other criminal conduct in Nevada, California, and elsewhere throughout the country,” said U.S. Attorney Trutanich.
MS-13 originated in Los Angeles and has since spread across the country.
MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” such as “Hollywood Locos” and “Fulton.”
In the southwestern United States, the Hollywood Locos clique operates in several major cities, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The indictment charges three defendants who were “Homeboys” in the MS-13 Hollywood Locos and Fulton cliques:
Adali Arnulfo Escalante-Trujillo, also known as “Buchaca,” 43, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise (commonly referred to as the “Kingpin” statute), one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, 15 counts of distribution of a controlled substance, and one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license.
As alleged, Escalante-Trujillo was the Las Vegas-based “shot caller” of the Hollywood Locos clique, leading the Las Vegas sector of the gang, which was involved in narcotics and firearms distribution. He bragged about the violent acts committed by MS-13, boasted of connections between MS-13 and the Mexican Mafia, and bragged that MS-13 had come to work with nearly all Mexican Cartels. Reflecting his senior position within MS-13’s hierarchy, Escalante-Trujillo was in direct contact with an MS-13 founding member living in El Salvador.
Escalante-Trujillo brokered nearly every narcotics and firearms trafficking charge alleged in the indictment. Among other things, Escalante-Trujillo hosted MS-13 members from Los Angeles at his Las Vegas home, to enable their transportation of bulk quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Jose Alfredo Ayala-Flores, also known as “Blackie,” 39, of Inglewood, California, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, five counts of distribution of a controlled substance, and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
As alleged, in addition to being a “Homeboy,” Ayala-Flores is a “shot caller.”
He led the MS-13 “Los Angeles Program,” a leadership group that seeks to unify MS-13 decision-making throughout the United States.
In early 2020, Ayala-Flores and Escalante-Trujillo arranged numerous bulk methamphetamine deals in Las Vegas. Additionally, Ayala-Flores sent bulk pills, laced with fentanyl, through the mail. Ayala-Flores also possessed three rifles (bearing no serial numbers) illegally, due to his prior conviction for attempted murder.
Alvaro Ernesto Perez Carias, also known as “Toro,” 50, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance
As alleged, Perez Carias is a “shot caller” and a founding member of the Hollywood Locos clique. Due to supply issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perez Carias personally delivered large quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas this year.
Aside from Escalante-Trujillo, Ayala-Flores, and Perez Carias, the remaining ten defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute drugs (between July 2019 and the present) and conducting individual drug deals over the past 12 months.
The indictment also charges defendants with illegally possessing and selling silencers, semiautomatic rifles, and semiautomatic handguns:
Sebastian Ocadiz-Castro, 20, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, three counts of distribution of a controlled substance, and one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license.
Juan Luis-Rico, also known as “Pelon,” 46, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
Juan Angel Reyes, also known as “Angel” and “Mysterio,” 21, of Van Nuys, California, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
Miguel Angel Nieto-Romero, also known as “Flaco,” 26, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and three counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Rosalio Andres Siguenza-Romero, also known as “Tweety,” 40, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, one count of dealing in firearms without a license, and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.
·Daniel Enrique Perez-Torres, also known as “Maliente,” 30, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and two counts of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Jose Gerardo Cortez-Diaz, also known as “Christian Axel Lopez-Cortez” and “Chiquilin,” 20, of Los Angeles, is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
Eder Cruz-Salguero, also known as “Edgar Manolo Ramirez-Salguero” and “Venado,” 26 (city of residence unknown), is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
Carlos Lopez-Guzman, also known as “Troso,” 41, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and three counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Pedro Ernesto Montalvo, also known as “Cuba,” 35, of Hawthorne, California, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.